The Israeli military killed dozens of people in Gaza and Lebanon over the weekend, continuing its rampage throughout the Middle East under the cover of “ceasefires” in both Gaza and Lebanon.

The massacres, which have become customary, have gone largely unreported in major newspapers, which have accepted the fraudulent proclamation by President Trump, as he put it on Friday, that “we actually have now for the first time, peace in the Middle East.”

On Sunday, Israel carried out an airstrike in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, killing five people and wounding 28 more. The strike targeted the densely populated Haret Hreik area of the city. Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that the attack was carried out by two missile strikes, which targeted an apartment building, damaging surrounding cars and buildings.

Sunday’s attack follows a separate strike last week on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon that killed 13 people. The attack, which killed mostly women and children, was the deadliest since the announcement of the “ceasefire” between Israel and Lebanon last November.

Over the past year, Israel has killed over 300 people in Lebanon, including 127 civilians, according to figures from the United Nations. It likewise continues to occupy parts of southern Lebanon, despite agreeing to withdraw its troops from Lebanese territory as part of the “ceasefire.”

The strike targeted and killed Ali Tabtabai, the acting chief of staff of Hezbollah. In September 2024, Israel killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, in a strike involving dozens of bunker-busting bombs.

A White House official praised this weekend’s murderous attack, telling Israel’s Channel 12, “We are pleased with the elimination of the number two in Hezbollah,” adding, “We think it’s a wonderful thing.”

After the attack, Netanyahu’s office boasted: “In the heart of Beirut, the IDF attacked the Hezbollah chief of staff, who had been leading the terrorist organization’s buildup and rearmament. Israel is determined to act to achieve its objectives everywhere and at all times.” Netanyahu threatened more violence. “We will continue to do whatever is necessary to prevent Hezbollah from reestablishing its ability to threaten us,” he said.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the attacks, stating that his government “reiterates its call to the international community to assume its responsibility and intervene firmly and seriously to stop the attacks on Lebanon and its people.”

Mahmoud Qamati, deputy chair of Hezbollah’s political council, said, “The strike on the southern suburbs today opens the door to an escalation of assaults all over Lebanon.”

The attacks on Lebanon are part of an ongoing and developing war in the Middle East and, in particular, are preparatory to any direct war by Israel against Iran. The Jerusalem Post commented on Sunday, “Israel now has tensions with Syria, as well as Lebanon, and in Gaza, the West Bank, and on other fronts. The Beirut strike may send a message to Iran.”

On Saturday, Israel killed 24 people and wounded 80 more, including children, in attacks throughout Gaza. This followed a series of airstrikes in Gaza on Wednesday and Thursday that killed 33 Palestinians.

The strikes bring the number of people killed by Israel in Gaza since the announcement of a “ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas a month ago to over 312, with 760 more wounded. It has leveled 1,500 buildings over the past month.

In a statement Thursday, Gaza’s Government Media Office condemned the Israeli attacks. “These ongoing crimes represent a clear disregard by the occupation for the ceasefire decision, adding to nearly 400 violations that have been recorded since the decision came into effect,” it said. “These violations have claimed the lives of more than 300 martyrs, left hundreds wounded, and worsened the catastrophic conditions that our people are experiencing in the limited remaining space of the Gaza Strip.”

Despite a promise by Israel to allow food and medical supplies into Gaza, the enclave continues to suffer shortages of all essential supplies, including critical medical supplies.

Mohammed Saqr, the director of nursing at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, told The Guardian: “We are still suffering a severe lack of most of our supplies and medicines. We have daily crises, and the same shortages and deficiencies in supplies, and we are still exhausted as we are still receiving lots of casualties.”

He added, “There isn’t much difference from the period before the ceasefire. Unfortunately, the bombing is still going on. … We don’t feel there is a big change.”

Sunday’s bombing took place just days after the United Nations Security Council adopted a US-drafted resolution, promoted as a “peace” plan, that makes permanent the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the colonial domination of Palestine.

Craig Mokhiber, former director of the New York Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned the vote in a post on X. “The UN Security Council has just adopted the horrific US resolution with 13 yes votes and 2 abstentions. Not a single member of the Council had the courage, principle, or respect for international law to vote against this US-Israel colonial outrage.”

He added that the proposal has been rejected by “defenders of human rights and international law everywhere. 17 November 2025 is a day of shame for the United Nations, and for governments around the world on their knees before the US empire and its violent Israeli client.”